Say You Will
by Yoruki Hiiragizawa
Summary: ##Prompt: So Garrus and Jane have been married even before ME1.## First Part of the *I Run to You* series.
1. Gut Feeling

**DISCLAIMER:** Much to my chagrin, Mass Effect, its characters and elements don't belong to me.

* * *

**SAY YOU WILL  
Gut Feeling**

_The first time they met, she was helping C-Sec bust red sand dealers at Shalta Ward._

Shepard was posing as an addicted duct rat. She was so nervous she felt like throwing up and kept thinking about what a stupid idea it had been. She'd never done anything that risky before, not by her own choice, at least – it was a lot different than chancing being seen by the slavers while taking off running towards the Alliance colonial base with hopes of getting help (even though she knew the ten men garrison had already been taken down).

The memory made her shudder and she couldn't stop the shivering once it began.

Grounding herself in the present, she kept repeating the step-by-step of what she had to do to help solidify the case against the dealers. She had to get her hands on a sample of the product, first. She hated not being able to steel herself enough to hide the trembling of her hands when she met the dealer on his usual spot; luckily for her the shaking just corroborated her impersonation.

She gave the shady man a credit chit and waited while he'd run a check for anomalies. After he gave her the stash she felt a momentary dread that activating her omni-tool to turn on the chit's built-in tracer would give her away. Shepard held her breath while walking away to leave the alley, with a staged stumbling gait; she only started breathing again at the sight of the C-Sec squad, her contact among them, waiting nearby to put an end to the ruse.

Slipping on what she hoped was a panicked expression, she turned back and started running, shouting for help with a pair of officers hot on her heels. As was expected, the dealer took off without a backwards glance, taking the tracer with him. At the same time her contact within C-Sec tackled her to the ground and cuffed her; as they'd rehearsed.

"Everything in place?" he asked, receiving a single nod in reply before yanking her by the arm. He confiscated the red sand, took her omni-tool, with the tracer code, and tossed her toward another turian she was certain she'd never seen before.

She wasn't an expert in Turian features, but she would remember seeing one wearing a bright blue visor. "Vakarian, take her to the car and stay with her," her contact barked.

"Yes, sir," came the prompt answer. Vakarian got a firm hold of her and led her toward the vehicle, looking all the while scared that she'd try and escape him.

Shepard held back a laugh at the thought. All she wanted was to get back to the precinct, take a shower to get rid of the week old dirt covering her, put some clean clothes on and go back to her room at the orphanage. It'd been a hard long couple of days while they set the trap and she was missing her bed dearly.

Her escort opened the vehicle's door, guiding her inside and entered sitting beside her.

"I'm starving." She heaved a sigh and looked at the turian officer's bright blue eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have a levo ration bar around here, would you?" she asked him hopefully. He kept quiet, as she knew he would, but got a ration bar from a bag and gave it to her. "Thank you so very much!"

She ate the bar with gusto; it tasted like recycled-food, but she had gone the whole week with only the nutrient paste the homeless shelter served in the evenings. Of course, she knew what she was getting into when she agreed to help with the operation, but it was still difficult.

Closing her eyes, she rested her head on the back of her seat, relaxing for the first time since the ruse started. It was almost over now. C-Sec just had to bust into the dealers' base and arrest the lot of them. She only had a slight idea of what that would involve, but supposed it would take quite a while.

Now that the risk of making a mistake and being uncovered had passed, Shepard felt the week old tension starting to settle in. The satisfaction of helping out would come later, she was sure, but at the moment all she could think about and feel was how dangerous that whole ordeal had been and how easily she could get involved. She's been away from the orphanage with no contact from administration for an entire week.

Sure. She got authorization, but something like that would never happen around her parents; then again, she wouldn't be in such a situation if her parents were still around.

They'd be appalled if she even thought of doing something half as dangerous as that and, not for the first time, that knowledge made her question her decision of joining the Alliance. If she decided to get down that path, the danger would become an occupational hazard. They would never have agreed with it – they might've accepted, but never agreed.

As usual, thinking about her parents and Mindoir put a sour taste in her mouth, so she shook her head to dissipate those thoughts; it was too serious a subject for her to focus at with her current limited mind capabilities.

Trying to distract herself, she had to bite back the urge to talk to the turian beside her. She knew the rules: Chellick was her contact and C-Sec officers weren't supposed to talk to the people they take into custody except during interrogations.

"You should have bought some food." She jolted up abruptly and blinked the shock away looking intently at the officer. "Instead of wasting money on drugs, you should have bought some food."

His eyes were fixed on her and she couldn't help the blush that overcame her at the concern and reproach in his voice. Of course. She must look like the most pitiful thing this officer has ever seen, all covered on dirt and wearing ragged clothes and mismatched shoes; she didn't even want to think about what her hair might look like, plus, no one other than Chellick knew about her part on the operation; still, it was an odd and rare thing for a turian to care about any human.

She never ceased to be amazed whenever she found a turian who would treat her with any kindness.

_And Chellick's the only one I can think of, really._

"Why are you smiling?" He sounded suspicious; she widened her eyes and felt herself blushing. She hadn't noticed that a silly grin was plastered on her face until he mentioned it and that made her heart beat a little faster too. "What's happening? Are you feeling ill?" He looked really distressed and at loss about what to do.

"No, I'm fine." She looked away, watching him askance. "It's just… you're not supposed to talk to me, 's all."

One of his mandibles quivered a bit and he crossed his arms still staring at her. "I won't tell if you don't, and it's better to talk than getting into trouble due to unrest." She had no idea her earlier distress was so obvious, but didn't know how to answer to that. "I can do the talking, if you prefer." He looked scarily determined.

Then, as he started telling her about how stupid it was to disregard basic needs just to feed an addiction, in a stern and patronizing tone, Shepard had to turn her face to the window to hide the grin on her lips. Usually she wouldn't think of being scolded by something she didn't actually do as a good thing, but right now the distraction was welcome. So once she was able to school her face back, she chanced glancing back at him letting his voice wash over her.

He talked for a long time, about duty and responsibility and respecting oneself. Every time he stopped, she would make a commentary and he'd start anew. Bit by bit, his presence started to soothe and warm her inside; giving her a sense of security the likes she hadn't felt in a long time - by the simple fact that he seemed to care.

The situation was only interrupted when Chellick got back and they headed to HQ.

* * *

_The second time they saw each other, he almost didn't recognise her._

Garrus ached for some real action as he filled out reports about an operation which he hadn't really taken part in. Drumming his armoured fingers on the table top, he stared disheartened at the three datapads, about the same operation, he still had to fill in before he could go home. You don't just make the transition from two years in the Turian military to a civilian security force wrapped in bureaucracy in the blink of an eye, and the light guard duty he got stuck on earlier that evening had been very frustrating.

He also couldn't believe how young that girl looked; he didn't know Human years very well, but even underneath all that dirt she looked even younger than him. It wasn't fair that someone would lose their way so early in life and he couldn't stop trying to figure out how she ended up in that situation.

_How can humans allow children to remain in that condition?_

There was something else bothering him about the girl, too; her eyes were very sharp and, though he could see the distraught on them, they were far too clear for an addict. She hadn't said much, but the few things she did say were keen and to the point.

He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong in the picture. Of course, he also couldn't remark his suspicion on his report without mentioning talking to the detainee.

It also made his plates itch that as soon as they got to the Academy, Chellick took the girl to an interrogation room, completely dismissing him. Then he'd come back two hours later saying the girl had been released. Because apparently the product they apprehended with her (along with the crates of drug and illegal tech they found in the warehouse the gang was holed in) was all the evidence they needed to close the case.

He knew Chellick was operating within C-Sec guidelines: they'd only need to hold the _dealer's client_ if they'd found no other evidence of the crime, but they did find it and therefore she was no longer necessary. He didn't like that, but that's how it is.

Besides, that feeling might very well be just his imagination. It'd been only two months since he started working with C-Sec and he couldn't even pretend to have his _detective senses_ honed yet no matter whose son he was.

_I'd better finish filling these things out or I won't be able to go home before my next shift starts._

He was just finishing his last form when someone knocked at the door of the cubicle he shared with Chellick.

"Come in." He looked at the door as it opened to see a red-fringed human girl peek inside. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Officer Chellick," she said not looking directly at him.

"He isn't here at the moment." For some reason he couldn't explain his heart started thundering inside his chest and a knot had formed in his throat, making his subharmonics more pronounced. "I think he may have already left."

"Dammit!" She exhaled heavily looking up and staring timidly at him. His breath faltered for a second. He knew those green eyes. "He was supposed to take me back home and if I don't show up there in the next hour, I'll be in trouble."

"You…" He blinked several times. She was different; her fringe wasn't all dark and greasy and tousled anymore. Her skin was clean and bright, maybe a little on the pink side, but it was the same girl from the drug busting operation. He was sure of it. "What?"

She seemed to understand exactly what he meant by that, because she looked apprehensively around for a moment before staring back at him. "Can I come in?"

He nodded and she passed through the threshold, letting the door close behind her. "I'm surprised you recognised me," she said as she sat on the chair on the other side of his desk. "Most turians can't really tell humans apart."

"Usually I can't, either." He cringed as the words left his mouth. _Way to make all turians look like xenophobic bastards, Garrus!_ He shook his head and cleared his throat. "It's just that I've been t-thinking about you… ugh, a-about the operation, I mean, and the fact that you looked so young to be involved and… uh, that is…" He stopped talking feeling his neck hot with embarrassment when he noticed she was covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

"I'm sorry," said she after a while, her face bright with glee. "You don't need to worry so much, you know."

"I'm just not used to dealing with aliens," he shook his head and saw her smile.

"You're new on C-Sec, aren't you?" She asked and he confirmed. "It's not really my place to say this, but: _welcome_!" She reached out her hand to him. "I'm Jane Shepard, by the way."

"Garrus Vakarian," he shook her hand in the human greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Shepard."

"Just Shepard." She winked and grinned. "You have a few questions about what happened today, don't you?"

"To say the least, yes."

"Tell you what: if you'd give me a ride home, I'll gladly tell you everything you want to know."

"You drive a hard bargain," said he, dryly. Then he looked at the clock and saw that it was half an hour past the end of his shift. He saved a copy of the document he was working on in his omni-tool, turned off his terminal and stood up. "Alright, let's go."

"Thank you, Vakarian!," she said, jumping to her feet and, _Spirits_, she looked so young!

"Please, call me Garrus," he said, wincing a bit. "Vakarian is my father." Her smile faltered for a heartbeat. It was so fast that he wondered if it really happened.

"All right, Garrus," she said and followed him in silence to the Academy parking lot.

"Where to?" he inquired as they settled on his Skycar.

"Shin Akiba, on Zakera," said she buckling up. "Near the Alliance's IAD."

"That's on another Ward! You're a little far from home, aren't you?"

She shrugged and shifted in the seat. "So, what do you wanna know?"

He thought about that for a moment, there were a lot of things he didn't understand, so he decided to start with something basic. "How old are you, exactly?"

"I'll turn eighteen in four months," said she with an edge of anticipation in her voice.

"It seems like you really want to turn eighteen," he chuckled.

"Yeah, well," she rubbed her neck uncomfortably and her eyes shone with determination. "I've been counting the days until I'll be able to enlist ever since I got to the Citadel two years ago."

"And just why is that?"

"I want to be able to help people." Her voice had shrunk and he almost couldn't hear her over the engine's noise.

Garrus thought the way she looked away and seemed to shrink in herself was curious. For a second, he wanted to prompt her to talk about that, she had offered to answer whatever he wanted to know, after all, but then he thought better of it and decided to change the subject.

He also wasn't sure what kind of lines he'd be crossing if he decided to press the issue, and preferred not to ruin the first good opportunity to talk to a friendly human he ever had. "How did you end up involved in a C-Sec investigation?"

She looked up at him, her eyes were shinier than before, but she didn't shed the moisture that he could see there. Instead, she opened a little smile. Garrus smiled internally, happy he made the right decision.

"I volunteered to help after one of the kids I knew had an overdose. I knew Chellick from the self-defence class C-Sec offers to civilians," her voice had returned to a measured tone. "And as there's nothing in the C-Sec rulebook saying that civilian help can't be recruited from time to time, we decided to give this a shot."

"Hm, interesting approach, but it seems a bit… unconventional…"

"Yeah, not everybody agrees to let civilians get involved…" She said carefully. "Chellick said that doing this is stretching the regulations to near the breaking point."

He grinned lazily listening to her explain a few details about what was done and all the security measures taken to ensure the criminals would be convicted. He could easily imagine his father's opinion over the subject. No wonder he never heard of such operations.

Garrus admired his father greatly, he could easily say he was Fieras Vakarian's greatest fan growing up; but more recently he found it hard to agree with the old turian's point of view about procedures, especially when the procedures would work against the law instead of backing it up. It also didn't help that his father usually brushed his opinion aside, saying it was 'just a youngster's impatience' and that 'he'll eventually learn'.

She stopped talking and turned to him, narrowing her eyes. "I hope you understand this isn't supposed to be widely known. That could invalidate the whole investigation…"

"Don't worry, no one will know it from me," said he, relaxing his mandibles in a sly grin. "But, if it's not supposed to be spread, then why did you tell me?"

She shrugged. "Because you didn't need to give me the ration bar, yet you did," with her eyes glinting she squinted at him. "And you even went as far as breaking protocols to chastise me about the ill-advised use of money and the malefices of doing drugs." He grunted and she giggled. "I had the feeling you could be trusted and, well, I'm seldom wrong…"

"Is that right?", he asked, surprised that she seemed willing to trust him so quickly.

"Yes, I'm a very good judge of character and my gut tells me you're okay." She beamed him making him laugh softly.

"You're something else, Shepard," he said, seeing her sigh and chew on her lower lip.

She seemed preoccupied and something she'd said earlier came back to him.

"Wait, you said you'd been undercover for almost a week, right?", he stared at her in shock. "Do your parents know what you've been up to? Aren't they worried?"

"Nah," she shook her head and shrunk her shoulders again. "I've got authorization to stay away from the orphanage for about a week." She grinned at him, but the smile didn't seem quite natural. "Of course, I haven't told them what I'd be really doing, but it's not like they'd check on me anyway."

"Oh, uh, I suppose it makes sense," said he just to fill the silence as he rubbed his neck feeling a bit uncomfortable. He hadn't thought of the possibility of her being an orphan.

"That building there," she pointed to a simple construction with both the Alliance logo and the Human Embassy blazon stamped on the walls. He parked the car on the other side. "Thanks for bringing me." She looked at him with a soft smile on her face.

"It was my pleasure," he watched her open the door and get out. "Good night, Shepard."

"Good night, Garrus." She smiled at him before closing the door and turning away. He stayed there counting his own heartbeats until she went past the building's door. Then he set the car into motion again.

* * *

_**a/n: **I'd like to thank **ChaosofNightMoonlightKiller** and **theherocomplex** for their help and support._


	2. Tinglies in a Silly Place

******DISCLAIMER:** Much to my chagrin, Mass Effect, its characters and elements don't belong to me.

* * *

**SAY YOU WILL  
Tinglies in a Silly Place**

_The first time Garrus contemplated that thought it sent an unexpected, but not unpleasant, twist in his stomach._

One week. Seven days. That was the time that has passed by since the Red-sand dealers shake down.

And, still, he couldn't stop thinking about the redhead human girl.

Granted, it was not all the time. And it was not in a way to interfere with his duties, but whenever he had a pause and activities waned he would catch himself thinking of her. It happened so often during the last week that he even stopped being surprised by that.

_She is an obstinate little thing,_ he'd think and go on from there. Admiring the way she couldn't stay still and watch injustice prevail after losing a friend to drug usage even if that meant putting herself in danger.

He was probably crazy, but the truth was that the time he spent talking to her, as short as it'd been, was the most relaxing he had ever since coming to the Citadel. The first time he really felt like himself in months.

_And, _Spirits_, it felt good!_

He thought it strange that, by human standards, she was still considered a child when by turian years she'd be well into her second Service year by now.

Sometimes, when he thought of her serving in the military, he'd start wondering what her specialisation would be and which would be her weapon of choice and whether or not she'd be any match for him with a sniper rifle.

He wouldn't think about how she'd fare on hand-to-hand, though. Oh, no! He'd stay away from that line of thought. In fact, that only occurred once, and… well, it had been... _interesting_. It'd also been weird. He couldn't quite fathom if his reaction had been triggered by memories of some of his personal experiences or by thoughts of sparring with _her_.

It bothered him that he'd never even felt drawn to asari before (although word is that everybody likes asari) and now he was reacting to a human. It seemed particularly... _inappropriate_.

There was also the fact that he was basically _making_ _her_ _up_ and feared he'd been idealizing the girl because he didn't really know her. But he wanted to. Get to know her, that is. And that thought was a little bit scary sometimes, too. Human-turian animosity was still strong all around the Galaxy; after all, it had only been fourteen years since the First Contact War. Though she seemed friendly enough towards him, he didn't really know what her thoughts on the matter were and humans were said to be somewhat prudish. Plus, she wanted to join the Alliance and would be leaving in a few months.

He was in the middle of those contemplative waves when the door to the office opened and Chellick came in.

"Still here, Garrus," the other turian stared at him a bit startled and fluttered his mandibles in a grin. "Are you trying to prove that all Vakarians are workaholics or something?", he jested, getting a duffel bag from the floor by his table.

"No, I just finished filling out today's reports, that's all," he shrugged watching his partner curiously. "What about you? What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, I'm heading to the gym for the civilian self-defence class," Chellick looked up when he noticed Garrus stirring on his seat with his subharmonics thrilling with delight. "What?"

"I-I heard about the classes," Garrus said quickly, too quickly, and slowed down a bit. "I just didn't know you were the instructor."

"I'm only one of them," he explained, leaning against his table and crossing his arms. "K'Foory, from Spec Ops, and Faggit, from the Tech Department, also work with the class once a week." Chellick's expression became graver and he lowered his voice before continuing. "We were pressed by the Human Embassy to have Harkin working with us for a while, but he had some negative feedback and the embassy withdrawn the request."

Garrus' browplates went up curiously. "I'm surprised they didn't make noise about this."

"It'd be difficult to make noise when a human female, a minor at that, complains that the senior human officer at C-Sec harassed her," he explained with a deep sigh. Garrus felt a lump on his throat thinking about someone like Harkin bothering a young girl like Shepard. "The worst part of it is that the Embassy is protecting the scumbag just so they don't lose the political leverage."

Garrus remained in silence, just staring at the empty space above Chellick's head for a while. This was one of the things he was having more difficulty getting used to about working on the Citadel. Military life was pretty straightforward. Most of the time they were taking down pirates and slavers and smugglers – real criminals who destroyed hundreds of lives.

At the station, it was necessary to tiptoe around others most of the time, trying not to offend people, even criminals, unless you had some irrefutable evidence against them. He honestly couldn't understand how his father was able to live in a place like that.

"You know, if you're not in a hurry to go home, you should come and watch the class," Chellick suggested, straightening up and heading to the door. "We could arrange a demonstration of turian military sparring; I could kick your ass," he added in a daring tone, making Garrus laugh.

"Or you could try," Garrus wasn't usually smug, openly at least, but he'd been one of the best damn hand-to-hand fighters from his squad and he was still in top shape being fresh out of the military while Chellick was two years his senior on C-Sec. Then again, though C-Sec didn't exactly slack off on their officers' conditioning, the training regimen for both organizations were completely different.

Chellick fluttered his mandibles. "Seriously though, you should come and see. Some of them are quite impressive," and with that he left.

Garrus tried to come up with reasons not to show up at the training, but couldn't really think of anything convincing enough to keep him away.

* * *

_The first time the idea crossed her mind, Shepard felt like she just might be going crazy._

She knew it was stupid, but still felt mildly disappointed when she didn't see Garrus at the Academy the next time she went to the self-defence class.

It'd made her unreasonably sullen and short-tempered for days; she was especially bothered by the persistence of the idea of questioning someone about the blue-eyed turian, it wasn't like her to get stuck on unreasonable ideas like that. The only thing stopping her from following through on that was the fact she hadn't run onto Chellick yet.

_What's wrong with me?_, she wondered while entering the Academy gym.

It troubled her that, even as she went through with her daily motions, she wouldn't stop thinking about the blue-eyed turian. It made no sense that her head kept remembering their chat in the car, the colour of his eyes, the timbre of his voice.

She shivered.

She couldn't deny that Garrus had drawn her in in an unusual way, his presence making her feel safe like she hadn't in a long time. It wasn't anything like she felt around Chellick, either; because, though she trusted the older C-Sec officer, she didn't feel so at ease with him.

_Thinking about the devil,_ she mused, looking said turian enter the gym and take position at the front of the class to start the warm ups and exercises.

_God! I must be needier than I thought if a random act of kindness gets me swooning like an idiot,_ she chastised herself. _It's almost like I'm…_

But no, it wouldn't be possible, would it? They didn't even know each other except for that brief conversation. And no matter how nice he'd been to her, they were from completely different species. It seemed unnatural. And, still, thinking about him made her heart flutter inside her chest.

She had never really believed in the whole _love at first sight_ thing before. That thought made her frown, upset, and without noticing she tossed her training partner on the floor for the third time in a roll.

"Shepard, take it easy there or you'll really hurt the kid," Chellick scolded her, making her take a pause and pay attention to what she was doing.

"Sorry, Chorban," she panted giving the skinny salarian a wry smile. "Got a bit distracted and forgot to pull up my punches," she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Only you would become more dangerous _while_ distracted," he shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "You have been really holding up on us, haven't you?"

Shepard shrugged, rubbing her neck uneasily with the prickling of a headache building up. "I'm stronger than I look."

She didn't feel like getting back to practice right away. Her thoughts were an utter and complete mess. So she turned to the instructor. "Chellick, can I sit the next round-", she trailed off seeing just who he was chatting with.

No one other than Garrus Vakarian himself.

She immediately felt her face heat up and her heart started hammering.

Chellick turned around and narrowed his eyes, nodding his agreement. "If you're not feeling well then you better take a break," he motioned to the benches where Vakarian was and walked past her, putting a hand on her shoulder just briefly. "I'll work with Chorban on his form. He's slacking on his defense again."

Her steps were uncertain as she approached the turian that had inhabited her thoughts for the whole week. He remained seated, his piercing blue eyes steady on her, making her feel the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach.

"Hey," said she as way of greeting.

"Hey, yourself." His mandibles flickered a bit, the planes and sharps of his face shifted giving him a softer expression.

* * *

_The first step, Garrus was told, is the hardest._

In retrospect, maybe going to watch Shepard fight wasn't such a good idea. The images in his head would be hard to get rid of and he wouldn't be able to pretend anymore that the way her body moved didn't do things to his insides.

He had openly watched her during the practice. The way her body would twist, her muscles moving under the fit workout clothes she wore. He watched with great interest to her block and charge and toss her salarian partner to the floor.

He had watched her so intently that Chellick took notice of the fact. And the other turian hadn't been a bit surprised.

_"She's brilliant,"_ he said with a touch of endearment. _"Sharp and brave; she's destined for greatness, you mark my words."_

Then she was coming in his direction and his visor was spilling data about her temperature and heart rate being even higher than it'd been while she was fighting. That bit of information threw him out of balance and he wondered if that was due to his presence there.

She sat beside him, not near enough to invade his personal space, but closer than most people would.

Unsure about what to say to each other, they made a bit of small talk watching Chellick correct a few stances and fell silent after that. They were restless, avoiding eye contact; Shepard gave the turian a sidelong glance and opened her mouth as if to say something before snapping it shut with a sigh.

Garrus tugged at his uniform's collar and rolled his shoulders, one at a time, then he cleared his throat, the girl beside him shifted and straightened herself up on her seat, expectant. He found nothing to say, though, and remained silent, making her sigh again. Garrus couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed at that. He'd waited the whole week for an opportunity to see her and talk to her again, but now he couldn't think of anything clever enough to impress her. And, _Spirits_, he wanted to impress her.

When the time came to Chellick end the class, he called Shepard to rejoin the group and she sighed deeply as she got up.

Garrus felt his heart drum and, as if his body had a mind of its own, he held her arm before she could step away. "Shepard, wait!"

"Yes?" Her answer came too quickly and, if he had to guess, he'd say she even seemed hopeful.

"I'll have a day off at work in three days and I was wondering…", he saw her tip her head to the side a bit, encouraging him to go on. _Oh, come on, now, Garrus! You can do this!_ He took a breath, looking her straight in the eyes and blurted out. "I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me…"

She smiled widely and nodded, opening her omni-tool. "Here's my contact info," there was a ping on his 'tool. "Send me a message with when and where…"

He couldn't hide the grin on his face even if he wanted to as he watched her join the others.

The next two days would be the longest he'd ever had.


	3. This Mess We're In

_******DISCLAIMER:** Much to my chagrin, Mass Effect, its characters and elements don't belong to me._

* * *

_**SAY YOU WILL  
**_**This Mess We're in**

_Humans and turians are so much alike… over holding grudges._

Shepard stopped in front of the unassuming building and checked the address Garrus had sent her the previous night. She scanned the little plaque in front of the door and, sure enough, her omni-tool translator was reading _Hesperia – Dual Chiral Restaurant._ That was definitely the place, but she couldn't see the turian anywhere.

Despite trying her best to avoid it, she ended up being late; and now feared that her date gave up on waiting for her. _'__But I'm not even that late, it's just ten minutes,'_ she cursed her luck that made her lose the public transport to get there.

"Are you getting in or are you just going to stand there uselessly?", an annoyed flanging voice asked from behind her. She turned around only to see an elderly turian with elaborated green markings staring down at her with open hostility.

"I apologize, sir," she stepped aside, allowing the stranger to pass.

"Damn pyjak," he grumbled under his breath, getting inside the establishment and making her, not for the first time, rethink the whole situation.

She was seriously considering bolting when she saw Garrus step out of the restaurant stopping beside her.

Shepard felt a bit ashamed by the fact that she almost didn't recognise him without his eyepiece. He wore a set of grey civvies with a red trimming that did nothing to his figure, and she couldn't refrain the absurd thought that he'd look better in darker colours; the black and blue of his C-Sec uniform, for example, seemed to brighten him quite nicely.

"Hey," said she, feeling the tell-tale heat on her face that indicated she was blushing.

"Hey, yourself," he greeted her with a relieved tone on his voice. "I was starting to get worried."

"Sorry I'm late," Shepard could feel herself relax almost immediately when he flicked his mandibles in what she was learning to identify as a smile.

"You're here now, that's all that matters," he indicated the door, but seemed a bit hesitant. "I hope you like asari cuisine. I looked for, but couldn't find, a dual chiral restaurant that served human food," his voice had an apologetic flanging and he was fidgeting.

"I had few opportunities to try it, but I liked what I had before," she smiled putting him at ease and they entered the restaurant together.

Upon crossing the threshold, a dozen heads turned to them, some looking at them with astonishment, others glaring in open hostility. She saw a few humans there, as well as other turians, too, but Garrus and she were the only ones together.

Doing her best to ignore the chill going up and down her spine, she focused on the decoration, instead. The place was actually quite cosy and homey, Shepard noticed, with what seemed to be a simplified version of the usual asari minimalist style seen all over the Citadel.

"I hope this place is okay to you," he murmured, leading her to a set table on a corner where he must've been seated before she arrived. "It's the best I can afford with my current salary."

She thought that he was trying to make a joke, but there was an edge of uncertainty on his voice that made him seem almost frail, as foolish as the idea might be when you're talking about a turian.

"Oh, I like it in here," she assured him tenderly. "I kinda prefer that the decor is more on a practical side than most asari sets around."

They exchanged a glance and he fluttered his mandibles. "I believe the lack of curves must be due to the turian side of the business," his voice was smooth as velvet again.

"Interesting," she said looking around for something that would strike her as particularly turian, but there wasn't much. She was about to comment on that when an asari waitress approached their table.

"Can I take your orders?"

"Yes, please," Garrus cleared his throat. "I'll have the palaveni rostita bovajo with kukajo radikoj and some citrona suko."

"Certainly, sir," the waitress then turned to Shepard. "What about you, miss?"

"Uh, could you tell me what is a popular choice among humans," she requested, putting the menu down.

"We've often been complimented by the chef's ganbak tarta and azenarioa ogia," she suggested with a pleasant smile. "The mahats juice is a very frequent pick, as well."

"I'll have that, then," she decided and the asari walked away.

For a minute or so, they just stayed there in silence looking at each other and unsure of what to say. Shepard heaved a sigh and willed her hands to stay put, hoping that it'd be okay for her to try and break the ice.

"So, Garrus," she started and saw him breathe out some pent up tension. "Why did you wanna be a C-Sec Officer?"

"Hm, it's a good question," he straightened out on his seat. "There were several reasons, I guess," his blue eyes twinkled in earnest as he thought of how to answer that.

"Like what?", she asked when he didn't immediately follow through.

Garrus chuckled at her impatience before answering. "Probably the same as most officers: I wanted to fight injustice, wanted to help people," and then he hesitated for a second. "I guess my father had something to do with it, too." He cleared his throat and his subvocals acquired a shy tinge. "He's C-Sec; one of the best," Shepard could hear the pride on his tone and her heart bled out with longing. "I grew up hearing about his accomplishments or seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest."

"That must be nice, working closely with your father like that," she commented, seeing him tilt his head and flicker his mandibles.

"That depends, I guess," he shrugged with a little glint in his eyes. "It can be pretty hard because parents often have unfair expectations about their children," his voice softened up a bit. "And it's not like we'll be working on anything together anytime soon either; not with him working on the Presidium and me on the Lower Wards."

The way he said that gave Shepard the impression that he was a bit disappointed about that particular point and she thought she could understand it. His father had been his hero his whole life and working together was probably a childhood dream.

She remembered the awestruck feeling of looking up to someone as if they're untouchable and larger than life; the way she would sit by her father's feet on the living room by the fire on especially cold nights and listen to him talking about Earth's history and old legends wishing one day she would also know all that and, as her father and her father's father before him, she'd be able to teach the young generations wishing they'd learn with mistakes of old so that they wouldn't be repeated in the future.

"But, yeah," he continued after a little bit snapping her out of her reveries. "If nothing else, it's great to be close to him, at least. We didn't really spend much time together while I was growing up with him working on the Citadel."

"And do you like it?" She propped her face on her hands watching him intently. Shepard thought about how silly it sounded, even just inside her own head, that she could probably listen to him talk for hours and hours. "Working on C-Sec, I mean."

"I would be lying if I said I don't miss the action of a military life," his left mandible flickered in amusement. "There were other options available: I could've applied for Officer's training or I could've taken part in a special training to become aSpectre."

"Wow! Really?" Shepard straightened herself on her chair looking at him from a whole new perspective. She'd never actually met a Spectre, but knew they were supposed to be the best among the best in the Galaxy. "That's impressive!"

"It's not really that big of a deal. I was targeted as a possible Spectre candidate along with about a thousand other military recruits," He shrugged and sheepishly looked away. "I probably wouldn't be selected anyway."

"Are you kidding me?" She crossed her arms and cocked her head, slightly put out. "Don't sell yourself short! You'd be great at it!" He looked at her sceptically, but she wasn't intimidated. "I can tell; I feel it in my gut," she tapped lightly on her stomach. "And I told you this before, my gut is never wrong."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Anyway, my father talked me into joining C-Sec, instead, and here I am," he stared at a point in the distance for a second and shook his head. "I'm still not certain that I won't regret leaving the military in the long run, but it has been an enlightening experience so far."

"What do you like about it?"

"Working with different species, for one; meeting new people, too," he drawled gazing at her and Shepard felt her face heat up. "The downside of working within the military would be that you don't really get to interact with other species."

"That's a shame," she looked pensive for a moment. "You'd think that the military should invest more on improving diplomatic relations with other species instead of reinforcing the rift between them."

"That's a very curious notion," he mentioned, tilting his head a little.

"Historical evidence seems to prove that we're weaker when we stand apart, is all." She shrugged, looking at her hands. "Well, that was what my father used to say, anyway."

Garrus' features softened up a bit as he watched her intently. Most times Shepard still couldn't manage to hold back the sorrow when mentioning her family, but she hated it when people meddled, since that would inevitably lead to them pitying her. She could tell he was curious, but hesitant about prying.

"I believe he was right about that," he said after a time, making her let out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. "Every time a fissure gets stronger, war seems to follow. Just think about the Krogan Rebellions, or the Unification War."

They shared a smile and a new silence fell over them, not an uncomfortable one as before, but companionable, and lasted for a few minutes until the asari waitress brought their orders.

* * *

"I'm sorry," he shook his head after the waitress walked away. "I've been talking non-stop and feel like I'm not giving you the chance to do the same."

"I don't mind it," she smiled with blushing cheeks. "Besides, it seems like you had a much more interesting life than I," she shrugged looking at her plate.

"Even so, please, indulge me," he asked of her. "After all, it's not fair that I'm the only one to expose myself, is it?"

"Heh, no, I guess not," she drew a deep breath and took a sip of her juice before looking back to him. "What do want to know?"

Garrus could see the tension over her shoulders and couldn't imagine what was it that had her so nervous about her life. Despite the curiosity, though, he decided that he could wait for her to open up willingly.

"Hm, I'll hear anything you want to say," he told her and saw her relax a bit.

"You know," she rubbed her neck with a crooked smile. "It's kind of hard to think of something to say under a pressure like that."

"Oh?", he cocked his head and thought of something that would make her relax a bit. "Okay, then, how's the food?"

Shepard looked at her untouched plate and coyly smiled before taking a mouthful.

"Um," she widened her eyes while munching and swallowed. "You know, I'm not sure what to think," said she, and he flared his mandibles preoccupied, she seemed to feel it for she quickly added. "It's not bad; just unusual, I guess."

"How so?", he asked, tipping his head.

"Well," she took another piece of the tart-like dish to her mouth. "It starts somewhat bitter; not much, just enough to get noticed, but then it becomes sweeter."

"It seems interesting," he mentioned.

"It is," she looked to him. "You want to try it? Wait, can you? Because I heard something about levo and dextro, but," she stared him with wide eyes. "Oh, God, I just suggested you'd poison yourself, didn't I?"

"Well, it wouldn't be a very effective way," Garrus chuckled, amused. "I'm not really allergic, but I'd rather not risk, uh, digestive discomfort."

For a moment, Garrus looked quietly to his own plate. That little exchange made him think of something that had only briefly crossed his mind while trying to find someplace for them to eat. "What about you? Are you allergic?"

"I don't know," she frowned pensively. "I-I don't think so. I mean, they tested me when I arrived at the Citadel, but," she shrugged. "The doctors never said anything and I think they would have mentioned if it was severe, right?"

"I suppose so," he heaved a sigh. "Just to be on the safe side, let's avoid grabbing a bite of the other's food, though."

"Sounds good."

They ate in silence for a bit and then Shepard sighed stopping with the fork midway to her mouth.

"You think we might be wasting our time?", she inquired, dismay in her voice.

He looked at her and didn't need to ask what she was talking about. He felt attracted to her strange figure in a way he couldn't understand and every sign indicated that she felt something for him, too. Her asking that, just confirmed it.

"I don't know," was Garrus' honest answer. He didn't know what he was doing anymore than she did, but, out of the two, he was the more experienced and she looked so frail at that moment, so in need of an assurance that he couldn't deny her that. "Is it a waste that we take our time to know each other better in order to become very good friends?"

"No, it isn't," she sighed; her shoulders sagging just a bit. "I'd like that, actually."

"And, well," he drawled with a sly grin, his piercing blue eyes set on her. "If it happens to progress into something else, it wouldn't be a bad thing, right?"

Shepard giggled, flushing a bit. "Not at all."

"Do you have any hobbies?", Garrus inquired after another moment of silence.

"Well, not really," she frowned staring her plate. "I spend most of my time studying or training, because I want to enlist to the Academy, you know," she rubbed her neck. "Apply straight to officers training."

"I didn't know you could that," he said flaring his mandibles. "But I suppose things on the Alliance are a bit different than in the Hierarchy. You see, in order to apply for officer training we have to serve two full years in the military first," he told her.

"That's why you only recently got the option to apply," she mused and he nodded.

"So, there isn't anything you like to do for fun, then?", he cocked his head looking at her.

"I used to work on jigsaw puzzles before I came here," she shrugged with a saddened expression. "There is no space to do that on the orphanage, though."

"What is a 'jigsaw puzzle'?", he asked, curious.

"Well, it's an old game where you have an image on cardboard, but it's broken down in small pieces and you have to put it back together," she explained with a frown on her face. "Sounds kind of stupid when said like that."

"Just a little bit, yeah," he grinned. "What do you do when you finish putting it together?"

"You can frame it and use it as decoration," she shrugged. "Some of the images are of these really old masterpieces, real famous ones, and it's actually nice to know that you can admire it's likeness because you were the one that put it together."

"It makes a bit of sense, I guess," he agreed.

"And others are pictures of famous places. The last one I pieced together was an image of the Great Wall of China," she beamed excitedly. "It's this really old construction back on Earth, I think it's more than two thousand years old and it can be seen all the way from Luna, Earth's moon."

"Wow! I had no idea humans had built such great things on such an early stage," he flared his mandibles and raised his browplates. "I mean, I thought you had only got a hold on engines a few centuries ago."

"The ones that didn't use manual or animal labour, yes. How did you know?" She cocked her head, watching him curiously and he rubbed his cheekbone, over his marking, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I did a bit of research on human history and customs during the week," he admitted. "Just some basic facts," his subharmonics thrummed in embarrassment.

Shepard smiled gently. "And what have you learned?"

"That you are a pretty adaptable species in an almost scary way," he answered with a teasing note.

"Hey!", she exclaimed with mock outrage.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing," he drawled, making her giggle. Her delight caused his heart to flutter. "You said you don't work on these puzzles anymore for lack of space?"

"Yes, the nicest ones can vary from a hundred to way over a thousand pieces and can take a long time to finish, so it needs a place to stay put without needing to take it apart when you're not working on it," she told him. "Otherwise ,you'll just never have it done."

"Hm, it actually sounds kind of interesting," said he in a contemplative manner making her smile.

They finished their meals and Garrus asked if she'd like some dessert. They looked at the menu and after they ordered, Shepard sipped her juice again.

"If you excuse me, I need to refresh myself," she got up and looked at him slightly embarrassed. "I'll be right back."

He nodded and took the opportunity to check his omni-tool for messages. He was in the middle of reading a note from father confirming their meeting on the shooting range later (Garrus almost wished his father had cancelled it) when he heard Shepard yelp and looked up to find her on the floor with an elder turian menacing growling at her.

_Damn!_ He was on his feet before he could even think of it.

"Don't think I didn't see what you were up to, you vermin," Garrus heard the turian say to her and felt rage pour through him. Just who did that old spur think he was? As he approached the commotion he started to analyse the surroundings.

A couple humans were standing too, ready to interfere and he could hear the thrumming on a few subharmonics that indicated some of the turians there were just waiting for a chance to deal with the humans.

"I'm sorry, sir, but–", Shepard started to say as she tried to get up. The older male would have none of that, though, and pushed her to the floor again.

"Don't even get me started," he barked at her. "I saw you trying to get my companion's purse when you passed by."

"I hope you have some evidence of that, sir," Garrus declared getting beside Shepard and helping her up with a concerned look. She shook her head, indicating that she wasn't hurt and he finally looked the other turian closely. The first thing he noticed was that the turian was a barefaced; secondly, he was wearing an expensive outfit, what meant he was somewhat wealthy and that raised a series of questions, because no barefaced turian could land a respectful job. That gave Garrus an idea about how to deal with the crude bastard. "I'd hate to have C-Sec bring you in for wantonly assaulting the girl," he snarled, daring the other to try his luck.

They stared each other down on a silent standoff, growls and subharmonics flaring.

"Joram, let it go," his asari companion put a hand on his arm, attracting his attention. "I'm sure the girl just bumped into my chair while passing by," she tried to soothe him, but the turian shoved her hand away and darted off the restaurant. "That's just great!" She rolled her eyes, sinking back on her chair.

"You know," Shepard looked back to Garrus with a wry smile. "Maybe we should leave the dessert for another day."

"I think you're right," he nodded, feeling everyone else's eyes fixed on them. "It's a shame, though," he sighed as they walked toward the cashier. "It's been ages since I've had dolca carom."

"Well, we could ask for a take out," she suggested, but he shook his head.

"It's something to look forward next time," he said it with a light questioning inflection, giving her the chance to decide whether or not there would be a next time.

"You have yourself a deal," she beamed at him as they proceeded to pay their bill before leaving the establishment.

As they walked toward his car, he started regretting having to meet his father after lunch since it would cut their date short. They remained silent as they settled into the vehicle and up till he set it in motion.

"There are still a lot of prejudices among our species, huh?", she mentioned with a dejected tone to her voice.

"It looks that way." He couldn't pretend that it hadn't bothered him.

"I mean, it was uncomfortable enough when they were only glaring at us for being together, but I never thought someone would actually attack me for getting too close," she lamented and then shook her head.

Garrus watched her in silence for a moment as they got into the fast lane, feeling heartbroken. "We could stop seeing each other if you rather we don't meet again," he stated, resolute.

"Oh, God!" Shepard turned to him, wide-eyed. "That's not what I meant!", she choked, speechless. "It's just, maybe we should stay away from public places," as she covered her face. "That didn't come out right, either; it sounds like I'm embarrassed of being seen with you, but it's not that," she tipped her head, eyes moving around as if she was searching for words.

"You meant that our people aren't even ready for the notion that a human and a turian can be friends, yet," he couldn't help but come to her aid on glimpsing the affliction on her face.

"Yes!" The relief in her voice was almost palpable. "I'd really like to keep seeing you, though," she assured him eagerly.

"I think we can think of something," he grinned at her, glad beyond measure that she'd not simply given up.

Unfortunately, the ride back to the orphanage was a short one and didn't allow them to come up with a solution.

"I'll message you when I get home later," he told her as he parked the car.

"I hope you turians are better at this _'__call you later'_ thing than human guys," she said, teasingly peering at him as she reached for the door. "Bye, Garrus," she hesitated for just a second and then leaned toward him, gently kissing his mandible before getting out of the car and heading into the building.

He placed a hand right where her soft lips touched his face, still feeling the warmth of her breath on his plates.

If enjoying that feeling meant he was a xenophile, he was okay with that.

* * *

**a/n.:** I really appreciate all the support this story is getting! Thank you so much for all the reviews, favs and follows!


	4. Intuition Tells Me How to Live

**DISCLAIMER:** Much to my chagrin, Mass Effect, its characters and elements don't belong to me.

* * *

**SAY YOU WILL  
****Intuition tells me how to live**

_Sometimes Shepard finds it hard to deal with humans._

Shepard spent the whole meditation session watching Chorban closely and not believing what she was seeing. It just wasn't possible; she had to be imagining things. By the end of practice, she couldn't hold herself anymore and had to check it out.

"Have you gained a few inches since last week?" She stood beside the salarian, comparing their heights with her hand – yes, he was an inch or so taller than her now, despite them being the same height the last time they saw each other. What was it? Four, five days ago?

"Yes, I finally reached my growth spurt. It was about time," said he, taking a step back. _Typical Chorban: he always did seem a bit uncomfortable in his own skin. _It was not as if she couldn't relate. "I'm actually a little behind my clutch-siblings," he explained.

His comment made her smile a bit as she thought how weird it was that he'd be considered a late bloomer at the age twelve. Bemused, she wondered when did she stopped looking at him as an alien and started seeing him as Chorban, the individual.

Species. Titles. Labels. Lately, she'd been thinking of that again and again. Those were such outdated concepts, but it seemed to be a problem all over the galaxy and there was little hope of change anytime soon. Not with the way the Council kept their respective races up above the others. _'Lesser species'_ were Avina's words about the Citadel races that only have embassies on the station and don't belong to the Council.

"You know what, Chorban," she said, dismissing those thoughts for now. It would only ruin her good humor. "We should go out and celebrate!"

"Why would we celebrate that? It's a biologic event, not a great achievement." He stared her down as if she had said something truly absurd – which, considering the way he put it, actually was.

"Why do we need a reason?" She found herself saying, trying to rile him up. "Let's just go out and have a party!"

She'd been fairly surprised herself when she'd found out that humans were the only ones that paid great attention to such a foolish thing as the passing of time on one's life through birthdays. Other species have their come of age rituals, but were a lot more specific than just going through one more year.

"Humans and their weird human ways," the salarian's big bulbous eyes were blinking quickly as if he was trying to understand it. He ended up giving up (she'd be the first to admit that humans, as a rule, didn't really make sense) and shook his head. "In any case, I can't," Chorban straightened himself up, rather proudly. "I'm attending to the admission evaluation of engineering technology at the Science Department of the Citadel University."

"That's something big," She eyed him suspiciously. "Shouldn't you be preparing yourself?"

"I am prepared," he stated, taking a deep breath. "And, though I actually only came here today to resign from training, officer K'Foory convinced me to join in a last session of arketa," He stretched his arms way up above his head. "I thought it'd be a good idea once it always helped me getting a clearer mind."

A smile flickered over Shepard's lips. The scrawny salarian was always a lot more comfortable during the asari meditation than the turian fight classes.

"You'll be missed," she said with a thick voice. It'd be so strange not having him there anymore; the mere thought of people suddenly leaving her life gave her chills. Especially when she had so little control over the events. She hated that it made her feel like she was being abandoned and she hated that this line of thought was unfair and selfish and childish.

"You'll find someone else to toss around soon enough, I'm sure." He shrugged, his voice not expressing any emotion, but his eyes carried just a bit of mischief that almost went by unnoticed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to–" His words trailed off when he turned to leave and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "What's _he_ doing here?"

Even before she turned to see who he was talking about, Shepard felt the little hairs at her neck standing up and her stomach knotted on that familiar way that spoke of trouble ahead – as if the open hostility on the usually mellow salarian wasn't enough indication. The sight of a human in C-Sec uniform entering the gym only served to make things worse.

"I thought Harkin had been suspended." She heard Chorban say.

"Looks like he's back on duty," she answered, dreading the thought of dealing with him again.

It wasn't that she was afraid of Harkin – she had stood up to him from the start, refusing to let him grope her during practice (her dad raised no fool!). What bothered her, though, was that the politicians were unwilling to punish him due to his value as the first human on Citadel Security. Whenever she thought of that diplomat trying to coerce her to withdraw her charges against the slimy bastard, she almost couldn't control the nausea. She could never thank Chellick enough for his intervention that day.

Shepard shook her head and turned to her salarian friend with a strained smile. "You were departing, weren't you?"

"I don't think it's prudent to leave you alone," he said, stepping closer to her as he kept an eye on the approaching human.

"Just ignore him," she muttered, keeping the other human on her peripheral vision.

"Somehow I'm not a bit surprised to see the little Miss Prissy around a lizard." Harkin said with a snide smile. "Though you're not very popular among our kind, you seem very comfortable among the aliens, don't you Prissy girl?"

Shepard knew Harkin was taunting her, but the accuracy of his commentary made her uncomfortable. _How can he know something like that?_

"Let's go, Chorban," Shepard said, decided to ignore Harkin. "I don't want you to lose your interview because of–"

"So that's how you get your kinks, isn't it, Miss Prissy?" Harkin interrupted her, getting close enough to push the salarian away and grab her by the arm.

Chorban stepped back up, but stopped when Harkin made a show of resting his other hand on the pistol on his waist, making the salarian haste towards the door – _To get some help, I hope_.

"You see, Princess," he whispered in her ear. "That's why don't trust the damn aliens. You think they'll risk their necks for a human?"

"I don't know what it is that you want, but you're wasting your time here," said she, gritting her teeth and trying to free her arm. "And if you don't let me go on this instant, you'll regret it bitterly."

"Is that a threat, little girl?" he smiled, apparently satisfied by her reaction, and pulled her even closer.

She knew about half a dozen ways of disabling a bigger and stronger assailant. The only thing stopping her was the feeling of _that_ being exactly what the bastard expected her to do.

"What? All bark and no bite?" he sneered at her, squeezing her arm a bit harder. She could feel her milky skin bruising already.

She hoped Chorban would get help quickly, because didn't know how much longer she'd be able to take of the bastard touching her arm and breathing down her neck, but her guts were telling her that if she took any action, things would blow up on her face. In order to control herself, she started to count to ten, and then back to one.

_Seven. Six. Five. Fo–_

"What is happening here?" The flanging voice hit her like a wave of relief and she turned towards the door only to see Chellick approaching with a nervous Chorban and, unexpectedly, a furious Garrus. Her heart flipped inside her chest. "Harkin, get away from her!"

"Can't a man have a nice little chat with a lovely lady, anymore?" Harking jibed, facing the newcomers. He tightened his grip on her for a second before tossing her towards them and crossing his arms, undisturbed.

Caught out of guard, Shepard lost her balance and found herself being supported by Garrus' strong, three-taloned hand with a gentleness that contrasted so much from the human's handling to the point of being ironic.

"It didn't look like _the lady_ was enjoying the conversation," Chellick returned the human's ironic tone. "Besides, I was there when the Executor ordered you to stay away from her."

"Yeah, whatever," Harkin grimaced, rolling his eyes. "Do something about it, or don't; but spare me the crap lecture." He shook his head and turned to the door. "Unbelievable. The little bitch must have alien-candy-flavored tits," he muttered, as he went away, causing Garrus to let out an angry growl.

"I hate that guy." Chorban vocalized, matter-of-factly, receiving a hummed acquiescence from the turians. "Well, that was a tremendous farewell adventure, very exciting and all, but I have an interview to attend and need to go now. Can't be late."

"Good luck, Chorban." Shepard waved him goodbye. "And thank you for going out to get some help."

"Yes, yes…" He dismissed the issue as he walked away, shaking his head.

"You okay?" Garrus' husky voice resonated through her, making a shiver run up and down her spine.

"Yeah," Her answer sounded small in her own ears, then she cleared her throat before straightening up and answering again. "Yes, thank you."

"I suggest you put in another formal complaint with the Executor, Shepard, and get Harkin a restraining order to keep him away from you." Chellick said, looking at her strangely.

Shepard was momentarily distracted by Garrus' soothing low rumble behind her before turning back to Chellick. Her body's reaction to the blue-eyed turian reminded her of Harkin mentioning her being constantly surrounded by aliens. The comment had set a red flag the moment the human officer mentioned it, but now it was like a screaming siren.

"I don't think this is a good idea," she declared, getting awkward looks from both the turians. "Don't get me wrong. I'd love nothing more than make sure he never gets near me again, but..." she frowned thinking of how to explain the situation. "Before you guys got here, he said something that… uh… he couldn't have known unless he'd done a background check on me, and I feel that he's expecting, counting even, for something to be done against him through official channels," Chellick looked doubtful, but Garrus was staring her without an ounce of hesitancy in his eyes.

"How do you mean?" The seriousness of Garrus' tone made her smile. Despite the little time they knew each other, there was such a connection between them that she couldn't explain if she wanted to.

"Don't you think it's weird that he'd look for trouble so soon after getting back on duty?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense," the blue-eyes turian, shifted from one foot to another, crossing his arms around his waist and turned to Chellick. "Whatever else Harkin might be, he's not stupid. He has to know that getting too many disciplinary dismissals so close together won't do him any good. Never mind his political value, there's only so much the higher ups can ignore."

"I feel like…" Shepard refrained herself before completing her line of thought. She turned to Chellick with a frown. "I think he's being coached to make it look like xenophobic persecution."

Chellick remained in silence for a while, brooding at that possibility. "Maybe, if that Simmons woman is behind this…" Chellick started, getting a nod from the girl.

"Who's that?" Garrus wanted to know. Chellick looked to Shepard, shrugging as to say the decision to involve Vakarian was hers.

"While Harkin's case was being analysed by the Executor, a diplomat by the name of Inez Simmons cornered me, trying to intimidate me in order to get me to withdraw the charges."

"We later found out she's affiliated with a pro-human party known as Terra Firma," Chellick added, then shook his head staring at Shepard. "Do you know how ridiculous this is? Involving you, I mean. Why would a human help persecuting one of their own?"

"You don't know anything about human history, do you, Chellick?" Garrus inquired, with a light stir of his mandible.

"And since when you do?" Chellick's answer came as a whiplash, making Garrus halt every movement for an instant.

"I've been doing some research," he shrugged and rubbed his neck, uncomfortably avoiding looking at Shepard.

"About human history? What the hell for?" Chellick huffed and raised his browplates, skeptic.

"Anyway," Shepard intervened, coming to the rescue of her favorite turian. "My being a human wouldn't give me much credit, if this xenophobic theory is really accurate. I'd be looked upon as being an alien sympathizer…" She looked away for a second trying not to blush. If anyone knew where her mind had taken her lately, she'd be seen as much more than that. "I'm the first to admit that I'm not an easy person to deal with and I don't have many friends. I also spend most of my time surrounded by aliens," she explained, counting on her fingers why Chellick's logic wouldn't cut it.

"I see," Chellick looked uncomfortable with the simply put way she said that, and he probably had a reason to be. All the time she knew him and she never opened up to him like that, but Garrus' presence somehow made it easier for her to just start talking. "I can understand why it would give you pause. I don't like it, but I get it."

"We can look into this and take actions against Harkin if my intuition is wrong, but…" she interrupted herself, turning towards Garrus when she heard him chuckle.

"You're never wrong," he supplied, making her grin. It made her unaccountably giddy that they already had something resembling a private joke.

Garrus' mandibles quivered in the turian version of a grin for a moment, then Chellick's subvocals resonated around them and Garrus looked away; his own subharmonics vibrating in answer.

Shepard felt slightly cheated before their wordless conversation, though she could assume what they were discussing.

She suddenly felt very self-conscious, taking notice of the comfortable way she and Garrus had been standing close together, inside one another's personal space with their arms almost touching each other.

_It seems that the two of us feel too much at ease around Chellick. It made us let our guards down._

She'd hate to see him looking at her with that same disgust she'd seen on other people's faces. It would hurt tenfold because it would come from someone she knows and considers a friend. So, she hesitated a bit before turning towards Chellick, and felt relief beyond measure when she noticed the teasing gleam in his green eyes.

She smiled lopsidedly. With friendly teasing she could deal with.


End file.
